


something's not right

by TrasBen



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bara Red, Confusion, Good Boy Red, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Misunderstandings, Past Kidnapping, Past Rape/Non-con, Sans has PTSD, Soft Red, Swapped Timelines, Timeline Shenanigans, Trauma Recovery, smol sans - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24060049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrasBen/pseuds/TrasBen
Summary: Sans wakes up from a nightmare to find that he's been dumped into a strange world..... A world where Red's not the obsessive kidnapper Sans has known him to be. A world where Sans' own brother won't believe him. A world where things aren't adding up.Meanwhile, back in his world.... Red's having a confusing time with this new little skeleton who wants to jump his bones.
Relationships: Kustard, Sans (Undertale)/Sans (Underfell), Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 70





	1. now let's all do the sans shuffle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PEDAwriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PEDAwriter/gifts).
  * Inspired by [You're taking my love if you like it or not](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16539098) by [comic4244](https://archiveofourown.org/users/comic4244/pseuds/comic4244), [gaylie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaylie/pseuds/gaylie). 



> NOTE:
> 
> this story is based off of [comic4244](https://archiveofourown.org/users/comic4244/pseuds/comic4244) and [gaylie's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaylie/pseuds/gaylie) fic ['You're taking my love if you like it or not'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16539098?view_full_work=true) and also a little au one-shot i wrote called ['you're doing it wrong'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21285878)!!! this fic isn't gonna make a whole lot of sense if you haven't read those!!
> 
> i think it's also important to note that this 'swap' takes place around chapter 24-25 of 'You're taking my love if you like it or not'!
> 
> okay now you can read :)

Sans drifts to sleep with the words of Red's promise still ringing around his skull.

_"i promise. we're goin' tamarrow."_

He was going to be able to go back home tomorrow. Not for long, jus to gather supplies, but he's going to be able to step back into his own home and see his own things and maybe even lay in his own bed for a little...

And... maybe Sans can even come up with plans for an escape.

Red's done a good job of keeping Sans locked up, keeping him weak (His ankles still ache from the heavy shackles he'd been wearing on them for the past few weeks. Thankfully Red had removed them a little earlier, so he could endure), and curing his boredness, at least a little.

But there's only so much one can do while locked up in a house without internet or access to even the back yard. Not to mention the fact that Red had _kidnapped_ Sans for his own sick fantasy...

Even as these thoughts swirled around in Sans' skull, he _was_ tired. So sleepy... and as much as he loathed to admit it... Red was warm and surprisingly comfortable to lay with. Of course Sans is only tolerating this because he has to. Doesn't have a choice. The dragon plush in his arms helps to fall asleep as well though.

...

Y̴̟̑Ǫ̷͕̬̺̲̯͇̙͚̙͛͛̃͒̀́Ų̸̤̫̯̙̯͗͐́ ̵̖̺̜͙̲̭̑͊̎͋̍͆̑͆͂͐W̵̛̳̱͆̈́̌̿Ȃ̷͎͎̬̙̖͖̠̰̎͊̾̄͊̅͊̕N̸̢̧̻͈̹̫͖̩̐̏͊͑̋̓̄͝T̶̪͉̠̱̲̄ ̵̼̝̯̱̝͋Ö̵̪̜͈̗͉̻̤̫̿͝U̴̧͙̖̿͗͗̂͗͑̂T̶͈͕̘͚͆̈͊?̶̧̥̟̗͇̦̲͙̱̇̉̈́  
̶͇̙̬͇̰̽̍  
̶̣̗̃I̷̧͍͆ ̸̣̤̼̐̑C̶̢̤̺̝͐́̓̓͆͠Á̴̫͚̲̻͈̠͓̓͋̍̄̂̈́̅̈́Ñ̷̨̧̡̧͉̰̥͚̌̒̔͠ ̶͎̑̈́̆̑͛̾̀̚̚̕T̵̝̫͎̠͎͈͗͐̃̄̆́̉ͅͅĀ̷̡̹̻̓̑̅̓͗ͅK̵̝͈̩̙̩̭̎̈́̀̒͆̽̑͑̆Ḛ̷͓̗͔̘͛͝ ̶̙͍́̊̏Y̸̠̟̲̙̗͖̻͆̊̃̅̓̚Ȯ̴̡̥͉̾̔̓Ų̷̫̱͋͒͋̑͋͛͘͝ͅ ̴̣͔̱̄̇̿̽̅͠Ḁ̸͙͒͌̈́́̆ͅW̴̧̼̠̑̈́̽̈́̇̍͠A̸̞͙͍̙̱̓̍́͝͝Y̴̨̢̨̜̞̥͉͚̍̓͌̽̈̃͌͘͜ ̸̛̹̣̲̥̫̆͐̑̉̕F̴̦̗͓̜̺͂̔̋̈̀̋̃̚͠R̶̥̝͗Ǫ̷̗̝͉͍̭̘̀̐̂̄̍̏M̵̦̣̰̺͇̺̲̳̯̣̏ ̵̧̢̘͖̻͚̖̣̪͐̄̾̉̋͂͌̉̍͜͠Ḩ̶̘͉͙̮͇̩͚̟͎̈̒͘̚E̸̟̲̻̦̪͉̟͔͆̊̏̔̓͑̍͘Ŗ̸͔̒͂̑͆̍́̉̈́̕͝È̸̺͓͕͈̬͖͙̿̈́̆  
̸̨̢̛͍͎̼̰̞͙̄͆͂͠͠  
̸̮̙̟̜̘̞̗̫̈̿͛̈͌B̵̡̥̼̟̯̖͓͉͗̇͗̈́̈̓̍̕͘Ȕ̷̙͎̻̲̲̮̝̟̽͑̔̂̃T̴̛̼̉̐̃̄̋͒͐ ̵̡͚̺̼̹͖̈̌̾͛I̸̧̢̛̝̥̟̝͚̞̻̤̾̐̄́̇͊̿͛Ţ̴̡̧̛̛͊͝ ̸̡̨̹̣͕͕̀͗̒̽͌̊̓̈͘W̵̧̜̣̞̆̔͆̒͌̋̇͌͝I̵͍̰̦͍̜̩͐̊̿͌͛L̶͍̜̠̯̏͊̐̊̅̒̒̄̚Ľ̵̨̨͓̫̻̟͈͔̚ͅ ̵͛̓ͅC̴̢͙̠̫̜̯̬̊̂͗̊̌̈́͆̍O̴͓̎̏̒ͅS̴̛̬͎̪̮̏͐̈́̓̇Ṭ̶̨̩̘̺̘̻̾̈̓͝ ̶̢͇̲͈͍̠̺͍͒̓̆̈́͑͒̍Ȳ̴̟͖̤͍͎͓̆̋͜͝O̴̤̫͉̱͕̪̍ͅǓ̸̻͙̞̗̞̺̜̲̍͐̔̍̒̚  
̷̢͖͎̱̤͔̥͈̔̋̊̎͂̋̅̕  
̶̡̗̼̪̝̝̥͚͆͋̆̆̋͌̂͐̕͝  
̸̡̘̲̻̼̙̓̃̋̔.̵̡̱͇̩̚.̵̭̜̏̋̈́.̴͉͕̣̩̱̲͗̊͊͒̋̿͜͜.̸̰̮̪̯̩̂̊́̓̕͘  
̷͔͕͓̭̬͕͉͊̒̇̌̒  
̷͔̪̲̝͍̖̩̭̞̤͆͑̊̂̾̓̋̈̇͠T̵̛̲͇́̈̅̏͌̽̅ͅͅH̵̛͎̝̎̀̃̈́͂̕I̸̧̳̱̲͇̓̌̊̃̀̈̓͠͝S̶̡͕̜͓͌̿̑ ̷̡̡̡͓̻̫̇̇W̵̖̘̖̽Į̶̛̤̤̣̥̼͓̠̺̑̋͛̐̌̇̓͝L̵͚̮͆̾̋̊̕͝͝L̶͎̐̓ ̴̫̘̫̗̼͓͚̫̂̈́̈̍̕͠͝B̵̙̳̮̝͓̋̐̈͠Ë̸̞͉̮̩̤͔̲̠́̄͊̿̕͘̕͘ ̸͖̂V̸̼̪̼̘͌͗͂͜Ė̵͍̠̮̠̲̙́͋̏R̷̘̗̦̥̘̜̓Ŷ̵̛̤̻̼͎̺͚͋͂̏͌̐̎͝  
̸̨̣̘͙̤̜͒̄̄̍̇̈́̎̋͝  
̴̨̛̫͔̲̲̹̻́̽̃̍̊̕͠V̸̡̲̦͚͘Ḙ̵̱̰̻̝̲͉͕͆̄̎̊̏̅͜͜͠͝R̶̻̗̜̠͖̂̎̐̅́͝Y̴̖̙͛̐̈̇̈́̊̒͘͠  
̴̞̮͇̑̎̒̋́̿̀̌̃  
̴̨͍̣͊͐̊̅̈́̐̚͠I̷͌̈́̊ͅN̸̡̛̞̤̭͖̟̩̱̙̉̔̂͒̈́̚T̴̞̺͖͈̂̎̾͘͜ͅE̴̡͈̪͉͔͛̔̂̌̑̓̔R̸̰̾͋͐̆͒͋̂̾͝Ȇ̶̯̭̹͕̘̮̘͖̌̊S̴̞̩̬̝̜̘̠͒̍̄̈́̌̉̽͆͛͠Ṱ̶̞̼̳̗̞̳̙̐̓͠Ḯ̶̹̻̺͈̻̞̼̮̼̮̕͘N̶͈̖̮͔̣̤͙̩̓̀͒͂͋̀ͅG̵̢̰͚̞̳̠͛̀

.

It's still dark when Sans wakes again. His breath comes out in sharp, shallow pants. His head is buzzing and his bones are damp with sweat.

For a few moments, Sans sits there in the darkness, trembling. He runs his phalanges over his arms, over his face, to make sure this is real. There's tears that threaten to fall from his sockets as he shakes, and his pants are sounding more and more like little sobs as time wears on. The small skeleton can't hardly hear anything outside of his own rushing magic and heavy breathing, but eventually the world stops spinning and the shadows recede until it's just Sans left alone in bed.

He takes in large gulps of breath, finally calming. He's in bed. Sans shuts his eye sockets and lays down on his back, thankful for the fluffy coolness of his pillow. Right. Nothing can get him now, it was just a nightmare.... there's no one here... 

... Sans blinks.

... 

  
Sans is... alone. In bed.

Swiftly, the tiny blue toned monster sits back up and whips his skull around the room.

It's... definitely not Red's room. The placement of the bed, the color of the walls... this is the guest room.

But that makes no sense. Red wouldn't shove Sans into a guest room after they'd fallen asleep together. The giant oaf would rather keep Sans pressed into his rib cage, unable to escape or even move beyond a few wiggles. And... after Sans had confided in Red about the night terrors, he'd become even more reluctant to leave him alone...

... What's happening?

Sans decides to take stock of the situation first. He's definitely in Red's guest room, so he looks down at himself next. Same long hoodie from the day before, check. Dragon plushie laying just a little ways away on the bed. Check. 

The tiny skeleton lifts the blanket to check out his still sore ankles. Still bandaged up. Check.

Sans lays back again in bed, this time with more confusion than relief.

Is it possible that Red doesn't want Sans' company right now?

It seems impossible, though... there's never a time Red doesn't want Sans by his side or in his lap. Sans has to fight just to be able to sit in his own seat or to not be touched constantly (Not that he does a very good job of fighting - Sans is still so tiny and weak compared to Red).

Slowly and hesitantly, Sans grabs his dragon plushie and slips out of the bed, padding softly across the wooden flooring as he goes over to the door. Just as cautiously, he cracks it open and peaks out into the hallway. The door to Red's bedroom is closed, but that's not where he's heading. He doesn't want to wake up Red right now, especially since for some reason the other must have moved him out of his bed in the first place.

No... Sans is headed for the kitchen.

Maybe some more hot chocolate will help the uneasy feeling in his SOUL subside...

Sans quickly locates what he needs and makes himself a cup of hot chocolate as quietly as possible. He sips on the hot beverage as he contemplates.

... When Sans had been looking for the ingredients, he noticed just how much more food there was in the house. Red doesn't buy groceries often - he doesn't cook that much. In Sans' time here, he's most often eaten fast food Red brought back. Not that Sans minds - he's a junk-food addict. But it _is_ strange.

Did Red not only put Sans in the guest bedroom, but go shopping in the middle of the night?

_Is he planning something_?

Sans rinses out his cup when he's finished and sits on the couch. He doesn't know where the laptop is. If he did, he'd probably try to pass time by playing games. 

He doesn't want to go back to sleep... the fear from whatever nightmare he'd had earlier still lurks at the back of his skull, beyond the confusion of his current situation. Despite himself, though, Sans can feel his eye sockets getting heavier and heavier. He doesn't want to fall asleep only to land himself right back in another scary dream, but it's impossible to fight the overwhelming tiredness that sweeps over him all at once.

Sans falls asleep on the living room couch, clutching his dragon plushie close to his chest, shivering slightly from a lack of a blanket.

...

When Sans wakes for the second time, it's to the pleasant smell of eggs and bacon rather than the cold terror of a nightmare. Sunshine filters into the living room through the opened windows. It falls across Sans in warm rays.

He's so comfortable, so tired. It almost makes him want to go right back to sleep; Sans hasn't slept this well for at least a few weeks, and it'd be a shame to cut it short now...

But the sound of singing - low and feminine and smooth, with a back drop of jazzy instruments - drifts from the kitchen suddenly, bringing him to full consciousness. 

_hm_?

That's strange, Red hasn't once listened to any music, at least not out loud, while Sans has been here...

Another voice drifts in and out with the singer, and Sans realizes that it must be Red. There's no way to mistake that low baritone, the rough quality, as anyone else. His singing is surprisingly melodic and pleasant to listen to. But Sans can't appreciate the dulcet tones for long, as the singing quickly switches to chipper whistling.

Sans rubs the sleep from his eye sockets and trudges over to the kitchen. It's here that he can see Red really _is_ cooking. Bacon sizzles on a griddle he wasn't aware Red owned while the tall monster himself prods at a pan of scrambled eggs with a spatula.

He must have been to quiet with his entry, because when Red scrapes the eggs onto a plate and looks back quickly, he startles at the sight of Sans standing there, watching him.

_Strange._

There's something different about Red. Something that Sans can't quite put his distal phalanx on. It could be that Red's dressed more casually than Sans has ever seen him - wearing only boxers and a very loose t-shirt. He's almost _softer_. Posture not as tense, shoulders slumped in relaxation. Those very same broad shoulders rise with tension when Red sees Sans, though. His red   
eye lights constrict in shock.

The two stare at each other for a few minutes.

It's Red who talks first. "uhhhh... heya, sansy. i'm makin' breakfast. ya sleep well?"

The tall skeleton sweats as Sans only continues to stare intently at him.

"no."

Red blinks, as if the answer was surprising. But it shouldn't be, because Sans _told_ Red about his trouble sleeping. Red had even offered to get Sans medicine for it.

"oh... well.... s'rry. that don' sound too fun..." He turns his back on Sans and flips the bacon that's still sizzling on the griddle. Sans nearly pinches himself to make sure he isn't still asleep, having a much better, albeit stranger dream. Usually, Red is all over Sans... any mention of nightmares should have had Red draped all over the smaller monster, hugging him close and touching him all over.

It's not an unpleasant change, but it does make Sans uneasy.

First moving him from his bed... and now this.

Has Red gotten tired of Sans? Has Sans lost whatever appeal he'd had to the tall skeleton?

Does this mean he'll release Sans?

_prolly not_ , the blue toned skeleton thinks pessimistically. _he prolly wan's ta get rid of da evidence_...

Sans pales at the realization.

Get rid... of the evidence...

Once upon a time, not to long ago, Sans was sure that Red would do anything to keep anything from hurting Sans. He'd said so much as he pleaded for Sans' attention and affection. But with all this strangeness, Sans doesn't know anymore. He might be in physical danger.

"why don'tcha take a seat, sansy? food'll be ready inna bit." Red hums innocently from his spot by the stove. Sans feels his bones start to rattle very, very quietly. There was nothing threatening in his tone, but the words scare him all the same.

_Take a seat, take a seat._..

Is Red feeding him his last meal? Sans feels a little crazy for jumping to conclusions so quickly, but he can't help the paranoia. After going for so long thinking he knows Red, this is completely unknown and terrifying.

Stiffly, Sans walks over to the table, just outside of the kitchen, and takes a seat in the chair furthest away from where Red is working. Red doesn't even turn to look at him.

When the sharp toothed skeleton finishes distributing the food onto two plates, he brings them over to the table. 

He... looks surprised to see Sans there. Despite having told him to take a seat...

This is getting a little too weird...

"glad ta see yer joinin' me at th' table t'day." Is all he says as he slides Sans' plate towards him. Sans catches the sliding dish quickly and looks down at the food. It looks good. Better than whatever Red has cooked in the past. Has he been practicing? Or did he just know how to make eggs and bacon better than anything else?

"thank ya." Sans says softly as he continues to gaze down at the food. Red doesn't respond for awhile though. Usually... Sans hates to keep thinking of Red this way... but usually Red would be over the moon to hear Sans thank him for _anything_. It's why Sans rarely does it - he doesn't want to thank his captor, nor does he want anymore attention than is necessary from Red.

"...oh, darn." Red huffs. Sans looks up at him strangely.

_Darn_? Hearing the censored curse come out of a big, scary, mean guy like Red is a little funny... but Sans doesn't laugh.

"i fergot ta get us forks. i'll be back in a jiffy, 'kay?"

Sans only gives a slight nod of his head, but it doesn't matter, because Red's already rummaging through drawers in the kitchen to find them utensils. He pokes at a piece of bacon with his finger. Is it possible Red poisoned it? Probably not, since he'd made himself a serving... but...

Ugh. Sans is being _too_ paranoid. There's no way Red would poison Sans. All of his thoughts are getting out of control - maybe Red just decided to lay off of Sans for a bit. After all, he promised Sans that he'd get to visit home to get some of his things and - and Sans almost forgot! He almost forgot!

He gets to go home today!

When Red comes back, Sans sits up straight in his chair.

"we're goin' taday, righ'?" He asks seriously.

Red looks at Sans blankly. "goin' where?"

Sans could _cry_. He thinks he starts to, in fact. There's angry tears building in his sockets as he _glares_ at Red. Of Course. All of this was trying to distract Sans from finally getting to go home. From Red having to keep his promise.

Red seems to panic at this, _serves 'im right_ , putting the forks down on the table and swiftly coming to Sans side. Sans bats at the hands that try to comfort. Red doesn't insist on touching as he usually would, though, and stands a few inches away, looking conflicted.

"ya promised!" Sans tells him.

Red starts to sweat, his hands fiddling with the end of his shirt, plucking at the hem nervously. "i.... i.... i dun' know what'cher talkin' about, sansy.... i didn'.... what do ya want?"

_"i wan' out!"_ Sans nearly shrieks, "ya said ya would let me get my stuff! ya said ya would, ya jerk!"

Red flinches, which brings some sort of petty satisfaction to Sans.

"y-ya don' gotta stay!" He says desperately, "ya can leave any time ya wan'!"

"any time i wan'?" All of Sans' anger drains suddenly and abruptly. He's in disbelief. After all Red's done, he's going to claim that Sans has always been able to leave? Is this sort of mind game? "is that some kinda sick joke?" Sans growls, hurt.

"no, no," Red insists, "ya can leave whenev'a ya wan', sansy, i ain't keepin' ya here!"

"mhm." Sans hums sarcastically. He slips out of his seat and walks past Red, to the front entryway. Red scurries after him (And isn't that a sight to see - a monster as big as Red _scurrying_ ). Sans stands in front of the front door, hands on his hips.

"so if i wan'ned, i could jus' open dis door an' leave?" He asks. It's more rhetorical than anything, though. He knows Red would never let him.

"y-yes." Red responds meekly. He's still picking at his shirt.

Sans huffs out a mean laugh, "yah right..." He turns the handle, expecting it to be locked.

... But it's not.

The door creeks open. Early morning summer warmth falls over Sans' bones as he looks at the outside. His voice trembles as he croaks out, "t-this ain't real..."

".... it is." Red assures him, "you can go."

Sans looks back at Red, then the outside. This has to be a trap. Red's going to let Sans try and walk out, then he's going to drag the smaller skeleton back in and shackle him up again and touch him and - and - and -

But Sans can't just _not_ try. He can't give up when freedom is this close.

So he takes a few steps forward. Stumbles outside.

Pure sunshine on his bones is the best feeling in the world. And Red doesn't make a move to chase after him.

Of course, Red could probably grab Sans anytime he wanted. He could let Sans go for weeks only to rip freedom from him once again mercilessly. Keep him locked up in a house with no windows. Take away his books and laptop.... his dragon...

... His dragon! He left him back in the house....!

Sans looks back to see Red standing in the doorway of his house, looking confused. When they make eye contact, Red does a small little wave and grins hesitantly. It's almost shy. Cute.

..... What the hell is going on?


	2. is this the real life?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> is this just fantasy?
> 
> caught in a landslide,
> 
> no escape from reality...

Red looks surprised when Sans nearly barrels him over to get back into the house. The large skeleton makes noises like he’s trying to say something, but Sans doesn’t pay him any mind. 

The small monster makes a bee-line for the couch and grabs his dragon. Not a moment later, he’s turned on his heel and is headed right back for the door. Red stands to the side, jaw moving up and down in shock as Sans marches right past him, back into the sunlight.

Sans doesn’t know how to get home from wherever Red lives - Red had made sure of that. But Sans isn’t one to waste a perfectly good opportunity. His ankles still hurt from the shackles that Red had taken off only the day before, but he did his best to ignore that as he sprinted down the streets, barefoot, clutching his dragon plushie to his rib cage.

Eventually, the streets start to look familiar, but it hits Sans when he sees a tiny lake with a few benches around it. He’s gotten lost here before! Trying to visit one of his friends… Bun…!

She’d told him that she lived on the street nearest to the little lake…

Sans spotted the lake and felt energy fill his bones as he jogged over to the house he only remembered a little. He hadn’t visited Bun a whole lot, but the bunny statues out front were unforgettable.

The sun high in the sky meant that it was probably afternoon by now - just the perfect time that drunk Bun should be awake! Sans stuffs his dragon under one arm as he knocks loudly at the door. He feels a little bad since he knows Bun might be hungover, but his situation is a little more important than having over indulged in drinks…

“I’m comin’, I’m comin’!” A slightly muffled voice calls out. Not too long after, Sans hears the blessed sound of a door unlocking, and Bun is poking her head out from the small gap she’s made. When she sees Sans, her brows shoot up. “Sansy? What’s wrong, babe?”

For a few seconds, Sans can’t even speak. The nickname - the one that had seemed so harmless before all of this - it reduces his thoughts to nothing but _fear fear fear._ He feels like he’s going to cry, but he doesn’t. Bun opens the door wider and ushers Sans inside. He must look like a mess, with nothing but a hoodie to cover him, ankles all bandaged up and a stuffed dragon in his arms.

There’s _so much_ that’s wrong, but he can’t tell her. His voice feels like it’s locked when he tries.

Instead, he asks a small question in an even smaller voice.

“c’n i use yer phone?”

Bun nods, “Of course, hun. You just, uh… sit down.”

Sans falls more than he sits back onto her couch as Bun rushes off to grab her phone. He uses the time she’s gone to think.

_He’s out._

He’s free.

Sans did it. He escaped Red, he ran all the way to Bun’s, and now he’s about to call Papyrus to pick him up and he’ll get to go home, and he won’t have to worry about Red walking in any minute and - 

…

… Red’s still out there. The thought causes Sans’ SOUL to clench coldly. Red’s still out there. Red could still take Sans back at any time.

No matter what Red had said this morning - how he’d looked or what he’d done - Sans wasn’t _truly_ free. He’d never be as long as he shared a world with Red. Sans wouldn’t be free until either him or Red dropped dead, and despite Sans’ newfound handiness with a gun, he could never bring himself to end the life of another living being.

“Here ya go, babes.” Sans startles when Bun walks back into the living room. She hands Sans her cell and retreats in the kitchen to not-so-discreetly listen in. Sans is too emotionally and physically tired to do anything about it, so he only dials up his brother’s number.

In typical Papyrus-fashion, the phone rings for only a fraction of a second before the other picks up.

“ _YES_?”

_Oh._ San blinks at the terse tone that comes through the speaker. He has to remind himself that Papyrus doesn’t exactly know that Sans is the one calling - this is Bun’s number. 

_But why would Papyrus be so rude to Bun? Papyrus is_ never _rude…_

“b-bro?” Sans responds. With his free hand, Sans draws the plushie close to his sternum, as if to soothe an ache. His SOUL might as well be aching, hearing his baby brother’s voice after so long.

“SANS?” The terse tone disappears, making Sans relax. Yes, finally, something that makes sense.

“i…” Sans sighs. He needs the fluffy of his dragon’s body to stay calm. “i need yer help, i’ll explain when ya get here, but… i… can ya pick me up? ‘m at bun’s. i c’n send ya th’ address.”

“...” For a moment, all Sans hears is Papyrus’ light breathing. Then, his younger brother speaks. “THAT WON’T BE NECESSARY, BROTHER. I KNOW BUN’S ADDRESS JUST FINE. THIS ISN’T… THE FIRST TIME I’VE HAD TO PICK YOU UP, REMEMBER.”

And Papyrus hangs up.

Sans sits in shock for a minute. That curt quality to Papyrus’ voice had returned as he talked to Sans, sounding almost _disappointed._ No, _resigned?_

It hurts Sans to think that his brother would be so flippant towards him… and it confuses Sans that Papyrus had added on that last bit. That he’d picked Sans up from Bun’s before. 

Sans doesn’t ever remember Papyrus meeting Bun - at least not in person except once. Sans has mentioned her before, but they aren’t exactly close friends… the last time Sans had seen her was on his birthday, when he’d invited her to where he was having dinner with a few others. Papyrus might have seen her there.

She got really drunk.

“He’s comin’ for you, hun?” Bun asks.

She pries her phone out of Sans’ lax hand as he continues to process everything that just happened.

“That’s good.” She keeps talking, filling in the silence left behind by Sans’ confusion. “I was wondering where you’ve been, haven’t seen ya around. Lucy was askin’ about you last week - told her you found a new boy toy.” Bun giggles. 

But her tone gets a little more serious when she adds, “I keep tellin’ you that you should get your own car, one of these days Papy isn’t gonna come runnin’ to pick you up after you decide you’ve had enough.”

Finally, Sans has had enough of her rambling.

“bun?” He asks softly. When her attention is on him, Sans gives her a dead stare and says simply, “please shuddup.”

Bun’s face goes a little pale and she slinks out of the living room once again.

Sans isn’t sure how to explain how he feels other than that he feels a little _dead._ His SOUL hurts so much that he’s not sure it hasn’t already shattered into a thousand unfixable pieces. Papyrus is acting weird, Bun is saying things that don’t make sense…

Even _Red_ was acting weird!

None of this makes sense! It feels like San had woken up in the twilight zone this morning.

In his whirlwind of thoughts, it seems as though no time at all has passed before there’s a firm series of knocks on Bun’s front door. Sans ignores the bunny monster in favor of answering it himself.

Before him stands Papyrus, tall and wearing a… a suit?

Sans rarely sees Papyrus in a suit. Papyrus works at a flower shop with his boss, Asgore. He makes flower arrangements and wears crop tops.

The professional look doesn’t… _not_ suit him, but it’s weird. Papyrus holds himself confidently, though. When he sees Sans at the door, he pockets the phone he’d been speaking into only a moment earlier and raises one brow bone.

“I SEE YOU’VE GOT A NEW FRIEND.” Papyrus nods towards the plushie Sans is gripping.

“y-yeh.” Sans responds shyly. He follows Papyrus as he motions for the smaller to follow him back to his car - a bright red convertible. The sight of it brings a splash of familiarity. Papyrus saved for _ages_ to get his dream car. “... sorry fer botherin’ ya.” Sans tacks on after a little silence.

Papyrus buckles himself into the driver’s seat without responding, and Sans grows nervous It’s not until they’re pulling out of the drive way that Papyrus speaks. “I HAD AN IMPORTANT MEETING SCHEDULED FOR TODAY.” 

Sans can’t help the small snort that escapes him. The suit, the talk - it’s too much. Too crazy.

“a flower meeting?” He snickers, expecting Papyrus to break whatever serious character he’s playing and laugh along. Sans doesn’t know what he’ll do if Papyrus isn’t joking. He feels like the carpet’s been ripped out from under him at least four times today, leaving him disoriented and hurt.

He laughs so he won’t start crying and screaming about what Red did.

“NO. A MEETING WITH INVESTORS.” Papyrus draws, “NOT ALL MONSTERS CAN GO GALLIVANTING AROUND, DRINKING ALL DAY AND SLEEPING AROUND WITH ANY MONSTER WHO’LL GIVE THEM A SECOND LOOK - “

“woah woah woah - “ Sans interjects, _loudly_ . His fear and confusion and slight hysteria is overcome by _offense_ for his friend. “maybe bun needs ta clean her act up, but that don’ mean you c’n just - “

“I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT BUN!” Papyrus border-line shouts as he grips the steering wheel tightly. His gaze stays on the road as he rants, “WHY CAN’T YOU SEE THAT YOU’RE DESTROYING YOURSELF, SANS?”

Sans’ younger brother sounds heart-broken, “YOU WERE GONE FOR ALMOST A MONTH THIS TIME! I THOUGHT THAT YOU WEREN’T COMING BACK!”

The older brother is speechless as he watches a few orange tears streak down Papyrus’ cheekbones. Sans has no idea what his brother is talking about, but whatever it is, it’s eliciting very strong feelings from him…

“... i…. i didn’ _leave._ ” Sans says when he regains the ability to speak. His own non-existent throat tightens with emotions he hasn’t let himself feel as he talks. “d-dere was dis guy… he took me.” Sans whispers, “h-he touched me… t-trapped me… i couldn’ leave…” The small skeleton hugs himself as he explains what happened, feeling the dirty touches on his bones.

Sans waits. He waits for Papyrus to react with horror, to gasp, to finally show Sans the compassion that he’s so used to from his younger brother, but he gets none of that.

He gets one, emotionless, “... OH.”

It takes a minute for Sans to realize exactly what that reaction means.

“ya don’ believe me.” Sans gasps in disbelief.

“...”

The tiny monster feels like screaming. He wants to jump out of the car and curl up on the side of the road and cry for a good couple of hours. Sans has just told Papyrus what happened - not in detail - to Sans. The kidnapping, the touching, the fear… and Papyrus doesn’t believe him.

Sans laughs again. He lets out little puffs of laughter for the entire car ride. He doesn’t even know where Papyrus is taking him, but it doesn’t matter ~~shouldn’t matter~~ because Papyrus is his brother, and Sans trusts his brother… If Sans doesn’t have his brother, then what does he have?

Like Papyrus said, it’s been almost a month since Red took Sans. He’s probably lost his job by now after not having showed up for so long, and Sans doesn’t know if he has the money to pay for his rent after not working for so long… he doesn’t even know if he feels safe enough to live by himself after all of this.

Papyrus is all Sans has left other than a handful of friends. He can’t lose Papyrus, even if the taller skeleton is acting weird and saying things that don’t make sense. Even… even if Papyrus doesn’t believe him.

Sans can show him. His ankles, his stories. He can show Papyrus that he’s telling the truth…

He begins to construct a presentation in his mind, his defense…

… It’s half an hour before Papyrus pulls into the driveway of a house that Sans doesn’t recognize, a house that is _far_ too large.

“where are we?” 

“OUR HOUSE, SANS.” Papyrus sighs, “I DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME, I NEED TO RETURN TO THE OFFICE SOON… EAT SOMETHING AND PLEASE CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES.”

The information is dizzying to take in. Sans hasn’t lived with Papyrus since he moved out of their father’s house years ago. And _this_ McMansion certainly _wasn’t_ their father’s house.

After all the crazy things that have happened to Sans and after all the things that people have said to him so far, though, this is fairly par for the course. Sans stumbles out of the car when Papyrus gives him an expectant look and hesitantly walks over to the large imposing double doors.

_Double doors!_ Who the fuck needs double doors on their house?!

Sans takes a quick glance back to see Papyrus watching him impatiently. The tall skeleton makes a motion with one hand and Sans slips inside. He watches through the distorted glass on the front door as Papyrus’ red car pulls out of the driveway and races away to whatever ‘office’ he’d been talking about.

He stares out the glass for longer than he should, way past he can’t make out the red anymore. When Sans turns to look around the strange house he’s been dumped in, the first thing he notices is how… _impersonal_ it is.

The decoration is trendy, but nothing that would betray Papyrus’ loud personality. At least it’s clean - that’s just like Papyrus. Sans manages to crack the barest hint of a grin when he spots a painting of a bone on the wall.

Heh… Papyrus had painted that when he was a kid…

At least there’s still that… no matter how weird everything is right now… Sans takes comfort in the reminder that no matter what, Papyrus is still his brother. A reassurance that he could be safe here...

Sans locks the front doors. He doesn’t like how much it makes him feel like he’s back at Red’s house… dark and trapped… but he also doesn’t want anyone to come in after him while he’s exploring. The image of Red or one of his henchmen sneaking in to spy on him or take him again…

There isn’t much downstairs to explore. A large living room with a huge TV ( _did Papyrus move? Sans hasn’t talked to him in a little, but there’s no way he’s making this much money on a florist’s salary…)_ , an office with lots of boring looking books, a few bathrooms and a large kitchen. There’s a laundry room and what looks like a guest bedroom as well.

Upstairs is much more interesting. On the second floor, there’s photos of Sans, Papyrus, and their Father on the walls. Sans even recognizes some of the younger photos! But as they get more recent, the memories don’t line up in Sans’ mind…

Papyrus graduating from college with what looks like a _business_ degree, his father’s hand on his shoulder, proud, with Sans standing beside the lanky skeleton with a wide grin. It’s in character for the small family, but Sans has no memory of the event.

Papyrus is putting himself through culinary school right now… he’s never been interested in business…

There’s more photos, Papyrus in front of his red care, smiling just like Sans remembers… but Sans isn’t in that photo. Which is confusing since Sans was right there when his brother bought that car…

Another photo of Papyrus. Him in a fancy office with a large glass wall that overlooks the city. When…?

There’s a few photos of Sans, too. Sans at a bar with some friends. Another one of Sans with some friends at… at another bar. Every photo with Sans in it after the one with the degree either has him with a drink in hand, several monsters he barely recognizes with him, or looking disinterested.

This… isn’t him!

Sans rushes through the halls, opening doors, looking for any sign of _normalcy_. But there isn’t any. Door after door leads to either a bathroom or a dull guest room. There’s a library in one room, but Sans isn’t in any mood to look through the books at the moment.

It seems as if an endless amount of time passes before he slams open a door and is hit with his own faint scent. He relaxes.

The walls are a light blue and there are paper flowers strung up on the walls. His bed is exactly how he remembers - how it _should_ look back in his own house - with his stuffed animals all piled on top.

Sans shuts the door behind him as he walks over to the bed and face plants on it. He breathes deeply and stretches out, his arms sliding underneath his pillow. His right hand hits something, and it falls off the bed.

Quickly, Sans checks what it is.

On the floor, laying face down… is his phone. It’s starry case is on it and everything…

Cold fear washes over Sans’ spine since _Red had his phone. Red had confiscated his phone when Sans was kidnapped, if his phone was here it meant Red had been here, Red had planted it here - !_

Sans grabs up the device and tries to turn it on, but the screen flashes with the symbol for low battery. He feels jittery as he spots the charger cord on the nightstand next to his bed and jams it into the port.

There’s several anxious minutes of foot tapping and glances out the window before the screen lights up. Sans types in his passcode and stares at his home screen.

It’s different.

Did Red mess with it?

When Sans studies the image - slightly distorted by apps in the way. What he sees nearly crashes his brain.

It’s Red.

From a weird angle, definitely. The giant skeleton isn’t in his formal attire. Instead, he’s wearing shorts and a sweater. It’s his profile, from what looks to be at a restaurant… whoever took the photo must have been all the way across the building. It looks blurry and Red doesn’t even look aware that the photographer is there…

Sans opens up his gallery, only to see that that image is the last one on his phone. It’s dated… a month ago.

Impossible.

It doesn’t make _sense_.

Is this fake? Did Red set this up?

Sans scrolls through a few more photos. The five before the last image are all more pictures of Red at the restaurant as he eats what looks like lasagna. When Sans gets beyond those, he’s greeted with another photo that features Red.

He’s at a park, but his face isn’t visible. He’s looking down at a book in his hands, sitting on a bench. Like with the other photo, there are a couple different angles of the same image. It’s dated a few days before the others…

The small skeleton looks in horror as the last fifty or so photos in his gallery are all shots of Red where the tall skeleton is none the wiser. The last one - the first image in Sans’ phone of Red - is a shot of the front of Red’s house, the skeleton in question getting into his car. There’s a heart edited over Red’s head, and both Red’s license and address are circled in bright red.

Sans feels sick.

What is this even supposed to mean? Who the hell was stalking Red? Why is it on a phone that looks like Sans’?!

The rest of the photos are pictures of random monsters Sans doesn’t know, all looking unaware, but none with as many pictures as Red. Interspaced are a few selfies of Sans looking up at the camera with lidded eye sockets. In some selfies, Bun and another female monster are with him.

Briefly, Sans entertains the ideas that those are photoshopped, but it can’t be. All of this feels too elaborate to be staged.

He looks through his contacts and a few of his most recent messages - with Bun and a “Lucy”, talking about a cute guy Sans had apparently seen… a skeleton monster with red magic and _big hands -_ Sans clicks out of that conversation and into one he had with Papyrus.

The messages here are very clipped and short, mostly Sans asking for rides. The most recent fourty or so are Papyrus asking where Sans is. Sans feels a little like throwing up. There’s at least one for each day of the last month.

It finally becomes too much for Sans to bear, and he throws the phone back onto the bed.

He needs… to do some investigative work.

There’s nothing amiss in this room (besides the fact that it’s a weird replication of his room in a giant house that apparently belongs to Papyrus), so he heads for the closet. It’s filled with outfits Sans wouldn’t be caught dead wearing - dresses, short things and a big box made of leather that Sans doesn’t want to open. He has a feeling he knows what’s inside of there.

Then he spots it. A bright blue book with Sans’ writing on the front - _a journal._

Sans grabs it and flips through the pages. He barely recognizes anything that’s written. They’re not his own experiences, but he reads.

Mostly, it’s complaining. A lot about how Papyrus keeps suggesting he goes to therapy. There’s also detailed accounts of sexual exploits that Sans pointedly skips over. Weirdly specific descriptions of people that Sans had seen.

Sans flips to the most recent entry, and it’s a disturbing description about every single entrance to Red’s house. He recognizes the count of windows since he’d made note of that himself when he was first trapped.

There’s a rough sketch of Red’s cracked face with hearts doodled all around. A description of an interaction he’d apparently had with the intimidating monster where Sans had purposely brushed shoulders with him then apologized.

_Red smells like cinnamon candles_ , his own handwriting told him. Sans can’t remember ever having paid attention to how Red smelled except when the skeleton came back to his house smelling like blood.

This is definitely too much for it to be a trick. Red is good, but not _this_ good. At least, Sans doesn’t think so.

But this isn't _real_. Isn’t what Sans knows to be true.

How is it possible that both are true?

Is Sans dreaming? Is he… Is he in some sort of alternate dimension?

Sans puts the journal down, squeezes his sockets shut and pinches himself, hard. But he’s still in the strange closet when he opens his sockets. This time, when Sans shuts his sockets, he bites down on his metacarpals. A dull scream leaves his teeth at the pain, but he bites down for at least a minute before opening his sockets again.

Disappointment fills his SOUL. He’s still here.

If this is a dream, it’s not one Sans can escape from any time soon…

The odds of this being some sort of alternate dimension are strong, but Sans doesn’t know anything about that. All he knows is a small bit about the multiverse theory. And he’s not even sure if that’s real…

Sans needs answers. But it’s not looking like Papyrus or anyone else will be able to give them to him. He needs to know what happened, how he ended up in Red’s house, why Papyrus is so different…

He needs to know about the photos in ‘his’ phone and all the weird journal entries…

But right now, Sans needs to rest. He hasn’t rested peacefully in a month. And he’s in whatever the closest thing to home is right now, so he might as well try to sleep. The looming threat of nightmares make it seem daunting, though, as does the lingering fear that Red will take Sans again and he’ll be trapped again, but forever…

At least Sans has the internet on ‘his’ phone. And youtube. Which he uses to lull himself to sleep, his dragon still clutched preciously to his rib cage as his breathing evens out...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter really got away from me lol... well. sansy knows that's something's up! and he wants answers, dammit!
> 
> finally there's going to be some answers next chapter... let's see just how confused these boys can get, huh?
> 
> at least sansy didn't call the police on red lolol... that would've been a bad time for our soft boy XD

**Author's Note:**

> !! PEDAwriter and i had a conversation in the comments of 'you're doing it wrong' where we discussed what would happen if the sanses from my fic and the original fic were swapped.... i've been thinking about it for awhile and i figured that i might as well use all this new free time to make something out of it. !!
> 
> this probably isn't going to be too long, just long enough for our boys to smooch maybe....... but i hope you enjoy it!
> 
> leave a comment if you enjoyed or wanna chat, and here's my [tumblr](https://beanniebenn.tumblr.com)


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